Ed White attends national post-disaster workgroup meeting

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC), and the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) convened a group of 27 stakeholders on December 15-17, 2009 at the Edward Lowe Foundation Leadership Center in Cassopolis, MI to discuss the subject of post-disaster economic recovery.  Funding for the Lessons Learned on Small Business Recovery workshop came from a disaster recovery grant from the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) as well as the generosity of the Edward Lowe Foundation.

The three organizations invited a select group of economic recovery representatives and experts who have worked closely on post-disaster small business recovery from catastrophic events occurring the last 10 to 15 years. Workshop participants included executive leadership from economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, CDFIs, economic development districts, state and the federal government from approximately 18 communities. These communities were severely impacted by either a natural or man-made disaster such as hurricanes across the Gulf Coast, earthquakes and fires in the West, floods and tornadoes in the Midwest, and terrorist attacks on the East Coast. Different geographies were represented from large metropolitan areas to more rural communities.

The purpose of the workshop was to identify, build consensus, and document the best practices and lessons learned on post-disaster small business recovery to assist future communities in pre-disaster preparedness and post-disaster economic recovery. Over the two-day workshop period, the staff at the Lowe Foundation facilitated important discussions around key topics in post-disaster economic recovery.  The group discussed what chambers/civic organizations/economic development organizations do well, where there is room for improvement, and what the ideal response for economic recovery should be. The group also discussed the appropriate roles for the private sector/NGOs and different levels of government, including a focus on recommendations for changes at the federal level. Finally, the group discussed a framework for pre-disaster economic recovery planning.

The workshop was designed so that the group would collectively build the foundation for a briefing paper to be written after the workshop and distributed nationwide. The briefing paper would not only help document the lessons learned and best practices, but would also identify a potential model for pre-disaster preparedness and post-disaster economic recovery.

Many of the group participants said that it was the first time they had participated in such a group activity around the topic of economic recovery despite the 15 to 20 years of disaster recovery experience in the room. Most local communities look to re-invent the wheel each time a disaster occurs as there are few mechanisms for learning from the successes and failures of other communities. This workshop provided a forum for participants to not only engage in peer learning but to also develop new networks and resources for their own on-going recovery work.

As a result of the workshop, the group determined the importance of writing a separate memo featuring recommendations for improving the federal response and assistance to disaster-impacted communities as it relates specifically to the economic recovery process. This memo would be submitted to the Long-Term Disaster Recovery Working Group (LTDRWG), which has been convened at President Obama’s request by the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The hope is that the LTDRWG will take serious consideration of these recommendations, understanding that the federal government plays a critical role in the economic recovery process for local communities.